Bartering can be great but for some reason barter for rent ,, just does not workthere was a long thread last week with Nat Chan  she did this .. exchanged rent for painting and it turned into a semi federal case and a Jerry springer show

Knowing that new paint has been painted over the existing old paint.

I stayed in my rented apartment for another month until I had fixed all the essential appliances, painted and put down new flooring. it was a mild inconvenience for the extra 60,000 in instant equity i had one year later. 

Wood can be expensive to paint and the maintenance can be higher.

So a home that needs a new roof, and new carpet and paint.

Something that you can quickly paint and clean and rent out with the understanding of the tenant that you are continually working on the property for thier benefit using thier rent money to do the work..

We attend the christening or first birthday party if invited.We give gift cards for the Holidays.We help decorate for the Holidays and contribute to community potlucks/BBQs (at our 8-plex).We have a "make it your own home" policy, whereby we give approval for a reasonable modification to the property, such as painting a room, changing out a light fixture, etc.We prepare a "move-in packet" which includes information to orient them to the property (property rules, utility contact information, change of address form, our contact information, etc. ) and also information about the neighborhood, such as a walking/trail map of the local area, chamber of commerce welcome information, a list of nearby amenities (including medical, shopping, restaurants, schools, parks), menus for local pizza delivery services, coupons for local businesses, etc.We prepare a "move-in gift" which consists of a bucket of our favorite cleaning supplies and a reusable shopping bag with starter supplies of paper products, a "Zip-It" hair snare for clearing sink drains, a toilet plunger, a cutting board, approved hanging devices (picture hooks), a door mat and a shoe tray.We supply light bulbs for all permanent light fixtures for the duration of the tenancy, including specialty bulbs for appliances and chandeliers.

It's been vacant for awhile so needs good cleaning, some landscaping some flooring and paint in all three apartments.  

I would expect to replace the kitchen, bath, flooring and paint.

 If you can afford to change the ceiling tiles, try looking at some that have a pattern, like the old tin ceilings, then paint them with a copper colored paint.